During a game of golf, golfers typically carry a set of golf clubs in a golf bag or the like. Some golfers then strap the golf bag to a motorized cart or a hand cart. While a golf bag provides a convenient method of carrying a set of golf clubs, and golf carts further facilitate the mobility of such clubs, it is still often impractical to carry the entire set of golf clubs to every shot.
For example, a golfer near a putting green typically needs only short-range clubs, such as a putter, a chipping wedge, or perhaps a sand wedge. As it is usually against the course rules to place a golf bag or drive a golf cart on the putting greens, golfers frequently find their entire set of clubs quite a distance from where they must actually make a shot. As a result, golfers typically carry a subset of clubs to the putting green.
Another example of the impracticality of bringing one's entire set of clubs to the ball is evident where golf courses do not allow a golf cart to be driven off of a paved trail. Many golf balls, of course, land a considerable distance from such trails. It is clearly impractical, in such a situation, to unstrap the golf bag from the golf cart every time one leaves the cart to find the ball. More likely, the golfer will try to anticipate which clubs he may need and then bring a subset of clubs with him to the ball.
In all such situations, where a golfer is away from his golf bag with a subset of his golf clubs, several problems become evident. First, after a golfer has selected the proper club for the shot, the remaining clubs are typically laid on the ground near the golfer. This not only causes the handles of these clubs to contact a potentially wet and dirty grass surface, but the possibility of forgetting these clubs after the shot is greatly increased. Moreover, while it is easy to carry one golf club, it is not always easy to carry two or three. Further, when grasping a subset of clubs around their shafts, the heads of the clubs are forced into contact with each other, leading to potential damage to the clubs. Still further, while picking golf clubs up from the ground is not all that difficult, it does require the golfer to bend down and scoop the shafts up with his hand. Not only can this be difficult for some golfers, but inevitably this causes a golfers hand or glove to become wet and soiled unnecessarily.
Prior art devices for carrying golf clubs are generally adapted to carry and organize an entire set of golf clubs. Such devices, as a result, are not well suited for a subset of golf clubs. One such device, however, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,646 to Nevard on Feb. 18, 1975, teaches a golf club carrier for a subset of golf clubs comprising several elongated parallel tubes each configured to received the shaft of a golf club. While such a device is suitable for carrying a subset of golf clubs, it does not intended for use with a traditional golf bag. As such, using such a device and a golf bag would be awkward, as two separate carrying devices would have to be used. Moreover, this type of device has a relatively large number of components and, consequently, is relatively expensive to manufacture.
Clearly, then, a golf club carrier device is needed that allows a subset of golf clubs to be carried conveniently while, at the same time, is readily adapted for use with a conventional golf bag. Such a device would keep the subset of golf clubs from colliding with each other, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the clubs. Moreover, such a needed device would prevent the handles of the clubs from contacting the ground when not in use. Further, such a needed device would be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and assemble, and would be easy to use and carry. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.